157 



Fertilising ingredients in alfalfa during different seasons . 



Pounds per acre. 



Year. 



Nitrogen. 



Phos horic 

 acid. 



Potash. 



1886 





261.6 



39.6 



203.5 



1887 





253.6 



45.7 



286.9 



1888 





299 2 



52.4 



292.2 



1889 





36". 



63.0 



255.5 



The average of the above table is 304 pounds of nitrogen, 50 pounds 

 of phosphoric acid, and 260 pounds of potash a year. These amounts 

 would be furnished by a dressing of 1,900 pounds of nitrate of soda, 

 500 pounds of muriate of potash, and 300 pounds of South Carolina 

 superphosphate. The phosphoric acid and .potash were naturally 

 derived from thi soil. The 300 pounds of nitrogen would cost in the 

 form of nitrate of soda, at the present low pries of 15| cents a pound, 

 $46.50. 



Red Clover. 



Red clover has been cultivated for centuries It succeeds best in a 

 temperate climate not deficient in moisture. In the central and eastern 

 part of the United States it constitutes one of the most important han 

 crops. Though not generally grown in the Gulf States it succeeds oy 

 the strong clay lands and black prairie soil of the South It may be 

 grown as far north as Minnesota, but frequently does not thrive in 

 newly settled sections. It has bean successfully grown all over Nebraska, 

 wkere it is recommended for early pasture as well as for hay, and where 

 it withstands drought. It has proved valuable in South Dakota. Most 

 of the experiment stmions give favourable reports of this plant In 

 Nevada, however, without water the growth is light. 



As a green manure it is perhaps more extensively used in the United 

 States than any other plant. Twenty pounds of seed per acre is the 

 quantity usually recommended. The seel is frequently adulterated 

 with weed seed. At the Mississippi Station light-c loured and dark seed 

 germinated alike in the ground. Clover is sown broadc ist. In cold 

 climates spring sowing is customary. The Connecticut Storrs Station 

 recommends sowing after grain in the latter part of July, in order to 

 secure an early crop f .the next season. In the South seeding in Septem- 

 ber or October and m February is successful. In Kentucky seed sown 

 between February 2 and March 1 nearly all germinated 



Studies of the root system of red clover grown at the Minnesota Sta- 

 tion showed that the amount of roots and the depth to which they 

 penetrate vary grea'ly, depending on the character of the land. In a 

 favourable soil a plant one month old had a root extending 7 inches into 

 the ground ; at two months old it had reached a depth of 2 feet ; at five 

 months its length was 5 feet 8 inches. The root development is most 

 extensive on drained land. The stand is also better on drained than on 

 undrained soils. 



